Mad Max: Fury Road Review

CAUTION: Some Parental Guidance needed for this Review for pre-teen children.

Mad Max: Fury Road
"Here they come again."

Since this is the most hyped movie created in the last decade,  me reviewing it and telling you NOT to go see it is probably as much a waste of time as watching it was. Everyone in the world is going to go and see it at least once. But I have a small hope that I might save someone from a generation yet unborn, so I will continue with my review.

I didn't like the original Mad Max movie at all, but I found Road Warrior weirdly interesting and I loved Mad Max:Beyond Thunderdome. So now you know where I am "coming from" and that I don't just go for "Christian" Films or "Chick-Flicks".

In a Theater this film is nothing less than an assault on your senses. Especially your eyes and ears. But several semi-clever post-apocalyptic ideas, a myriad of phallic symbols, a gazillion "cool" cars and trucks and tons of tricks to entice every young teen age boy into the theater and out of his allowance does not a good film make.

 From the loud cars  to loud, thrash metal to the bikini clad models hosing themselves down with water to the the suicide-glorifying "war boys"and (let us not forget) the electric guitar that shoots out flames ,  this is every teen age boys "w*t dream".

Let us not forget the nubile,
Bikini clad models
hosing themselves down with water

So Many "Phallic" Symbols There's No Room for a Story

So let's take these a point at a time:

George Miller gives us several semi-interesting ideas about what he envisions a Post-apocalyptic Australian future might look like, But since he's had his entire life to think about it,  I would expect at least a few good ideas. He's been mulling it over for decades.

Tom Hardy is probably the best actor of this generation but his talent is pretty much wasted here. In fact, the character of Mad Max is superfluous to this entire film. He's only here as an excuse to get us
back to this time and place. But Tom Hardy still manages to get in a few good acting licks anyway and manages to bring out some of the "humor" in the character of Max without actually imitating Mel Gibson. The way Hardy runs around and also the way he uses the file on the face mask is reminiscent of Max's fight in Thunderdome, (Remember Gibson running around with the chain saw during his fight with MasterBlaster?)  But your time would be better spent viewing a different Tom Hardy film.

Tom Hardy or Mad Max or Puppet Master
or Winner of Hannibal Lector Look-a-like Contest ???

The lightly disguised "story" in this film is all about the Charlize Theron character, Furiosa. (And Kudos to Theron and her agent for actually getting her top billing at the beginning of the film). It makes me think maybe Miller had a crush on Charlize and constructed this entire film as an excuse just to hang around with her.

As a side note: I watched Charlize Theron interviewed for 15 minutes where they only discussed how she came to the decision to get all her hair cut off for this role. (I'm going bald from illness, I won't get my hair back and I didn't get millions of dollars to lose it and I was just wondering if it was as hard for every other sick person who is losing their hair to listen to how "amazing and self-less" she was to get her hair cut for this role).

All those teen years wearing perfume to get a guy,
when I should have been wearing axle grease on my head.

But in a nut shell, if you're over the age of 14 and actually expect a story when you see a film,
you're out of luck here. As to the massive amount of hype that has gone on for literally years surrounding the release of this film ...  their final big "selling point" as the release date approached is that most of the stunts were done in real life instead of  using CGI. Uh, that describes almost EVERY film made before the year 1990. So excuse me if I'm not impressed by that.

The actual talent in making a BIG film is to BALANCE it with enough INTIMATE moments that make you sympathize with the characters enough to care what happens to them. (An example of this being done the right way is James Cameron's "Titanic")  But in this film I don't care if all the characters die.

Nicholas Hoult

There is one exception: Nicholas Hoult, He used his few moments onscreen to make me care about his character, Nux. This was no easy feat amid all the dust and noise, So I'm actually eager to see him in other films to see what else he can do. But after watching this film 4 times (I wanted to give it as much of a fair chance to win me over as possible), I'm done going down the "Fury Road".

Tom Hardy (sans mask)

As for Tom Hardy fans, your time is better spent watching one of his former films over again instead of wasting it here. Pick one of his films where you can actually see his face and hear his voice. These characters could have been portrayed by hand puppets and none of us would be the wiser.
Who knows? Maybe they were? I never actually saw any changes in the facial expressions of the "wives" and almost every camera shot was a long one so we could see all the 'pretty' cars and trucks.





As to the Christian aspects of this film ... there are none. It's not really even interesting enough to be truly offensive.  But if you are the parent of a teenage boy you're going to need to believe in both prayer and miracles because this film is aimed at relieving him of his virtue, as well as his allowance. But if an "old biddy" like me took the time to see this film, good luck trying to stop a teenage boy from watching it.

Also, through the years I've come to expect a lot more from post-apocalyptic films because we, as Christians, actually know what the future will hold now that the book of Revelation (the last section in the Bible) reads like a daily newspaper (even though it was written almost 2,000 years ago). So everyone elses'  "supposing" doesn't impress me much anymore.

I've probably stopped nobody from seeing this film, but if I had my way I'd buy each of you a rope and tell you to  'skip, skip, skip'.

It gets two gold, Christian fishes out of ten (and that's just because I'm in a generous mood today).

Laura-Lee's "Complete Films" Playlist from YouTube

Bette Davis (Good in every film)

At the very bottom is a LINK to one of my few Public  PLAY LISTS on YouTube: "Complete Films". Why don't you check it out whenever you need to be diverted by a truly good film for free? 

(Since they are taken from other peoples'  YouTube Channels -and not my own- please use caution and always think twice before giving out any personal information ... anywhere.
 Sincerely, Laura-Lee

Henry Fonda "12 Angry Men"

"The Drop" with Tom Hardy (& co-star)

Laura-Lee's Favorite COMPLETE FILMS PLAYLIST on YouTube

Film Review: "LOCKE" is Fast Moving - Keep Your Arms in the Vehicle

CLOSED CAPTIONING is a MUST while watching the film "Locke", especially
if you are NOT from the UK. It always helps if you're watching anything
with actors using accents not the same as your own.
But also because the dialogue in "Locke" is so important (and so masterfully done by Steven Knight - who also directed this film gem) that you won't want to miss a syllable. So take a moment to flip on the CC.

It takes only a few minutes to become thoroughly involved in the main character's dilemna to do the right thing no matter what he has to sacrifice, because it is written so true to life and acted so well by Tom Hardy in the title role. He truly is THE actor of his generation and this film is just more proof of that. You can't take your eyes off him and it's not because he's the only one on screen for the entire film. There actually is a lot to look at. I found the SET DESIGN very important too, Because the entire movie takes place in one car during a 90 minute drive and there is so little "set", nothing is in the car by accident. (For Example: on the passenger side seat you see a layer of those wooden balls that makes it more comfortable to sit and aids circulation if a person is taking a long car ride. But how often do you see them on the PASSENGER side of a car? Does that mean TWO people sit in this car for long periods of time? Why is it so important that the "navigator" is comfortable? Does that say something about Ivan Locke's marriage? Is he considerate or is his wife demanding? A person could discuss the psychology of the "set design" for hours.)

It's been a long time since I've seen a film so true to human nature and there was barely an emotion I didn't experience while watching. Even everything Locke says to his father is exactly the same as my own experience that it was downright spooky. (Right down to my father reappearing years later wearing "trainers"). And how Ivan took his last name and "made it right". I've always tried to live a good life to "fix" my family name so it would represent something good.

"Locke" should be watched the second time also to focus on and appreciate the SUPPORTING CAST. They do such a remarkable job that you don't even consider them during the first viewing. Which actually means everyone is doing their "supporting" job to such perfection that they "disappear" into the experience of the story. But if you consciously take the time to notice them, you can't help but be amazed at the level of talent of the entire cast.

Think of it as if you are tasting food. The first mouthful just gets your taste buds ready to become more defining so you can pick up on the smaller nuances. It's your second bite before you appreciate just how good the food really is. And "Locke" is the equivalent of a wonderful movie meal. It's got a lot of courses, is prepared well, with care and attention to detail and there is something in it for
everyone. So enjoy. (And make sure to wear stretchy pants so you're comfortable and can take it ALL in). But this is NOT Drive-Thru fair. This is film dining at it's best, yet not your average meat and potatoes. It's all so familiar but also so absolutely unique that I'm at a bit of a loss of how to describe it. (And anything that leaves me at a loss for words is worth checking into just for that reason.)

I'd like to give it a 9 out of 10 Christian Fishes, but it loses 1 Christian fish solely due to the course language. So sensitive and young viewers should probably steer clear. But for everyone else, this is ride is a thrill. So make sure you're alert and your arms are inside the vehicle at all times because this ride is going to go fast.

Inception

I meant for this blog to look at both the best and worst of everything in entertainment, but since time is very precious, I just don't seem to have the time to waste on the bad.
Which brings us to another movie that I am very impressed with: "INCEPTION".
It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and is written and directed by Christopher Nolan.
I got this movie as a DVD and by the time I was merely 15 minutes into I had one thought on my mind: "whoever wrote this story put a lot of thought and time into it".
As it turns out I was right. Again! (Yeesh. It gets so boring to be right ALL THE TIME.)
Christopher Nolan both wrote and directed this film and has been apparently writing it for years and it shows.

The story revolves around dreams , which is always a tricky topic to write about. But in this case, Nolan seems to be able to tap into the parts of our dreams that we all share, while blowing our minds with things that most of us have never thought of.
It takes place in the not to distant future where trade and personal secrets can be stolen by simply slipping into a person's unconscious mind and "tricking" them into telling them to you ... while they're asleep. Leonardo DiCaprio plays  one of these "extracters" who is desperately trying to do whatever it takes to get home to his two kids, while battling some major guilt that takes the form of some serious 'dream demons'.
I truly can tell you very little about the content of the film because anything I say would spoil some part of this film for you. It is full of twists and turns and I would suggest that the best way to watch this film is on DVD. As clear as Nolan makes this story, there are still a few times when I had to review an explanation that one of the characters makes before going forward. I would suggest you do the same. If you don't have a good basic idea of what is happening, plot wise, then go back and make sure you have all the info you need before proceeding any further with the film.
Besides 1)a great writer and director in Christopher Nolan, 2)a wonderful music score by Hans Zimmer, 3) fantastic visuals by  Director of Photography Wally Pfister (who won the oscar for this film),  this film has one of the greatest ensemble casts any movie can brag of.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page , Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy and the always wonderful Michael Caine.

This film is the perfect combination of a "Guy Movie", "Chick-Flick" and "Artsy-Fartsy Film." There is something here for everyone . And I challenge anyone to NOT like this film. It can't be done.
If I'm wrong, ... well, there's a first for everything. But I don't think it will be this time.

NOTE: click the title to this post and you will go to the official site of this film